SoCal Battle Scar

[veniculum]

Hey Guys...
Something sad happened last night, and I'm hoping someone may be able to suggest some options...if any.

I was removing the back/trem plate off the back of the guitar, and I guess with the bitter cold/dry air here in the northeast, the wood from the body of my guitar shrank slightly...but just enough to make getting the back plate off. At first I thought it was how these things always are...a little sticky...take a screw, put it in one of those holes, an pry the plate off. Normally takes no effort at all (if the plate doesn't just fall off by itself).

But not this one folks....this one was ON there...I couldn't get it off for shit. Knives, razor blades...you name it, I tried it. Finally, I took a real small screwdriver from one of those eyeglasses kits...I had all I could do to pry that plate off...and when it finally did come off, it flew about 10 feet over my shoulder...which would've been ok, exept for the fact that it broke a chip about 1/3 of an inch off the corner of the trem cavity (in the corner). The other corner lost a small chip of wood as well.

I've never seen this happen before, and the plate used to come off no problem during the warmer months...I have no doubt that the dry, cold air played a part in this.

I was lucky in that I was was able to salvage the small chip of wood that came off when the back plate flew off. So I ran upstairs, used a little wood glue, and pressed that piece back in place. Then I cleaned off the excess glue, and yes...used a red sharpie to try and hide the lighter wood spots...which actually did a surprisingly good job.

Ultimately, it doesn't look too bad...matter of fact it's very difficult to even see from more than a few feet away. Plus, it's on the back of the guitar, so it's not like anyone would see it. But I know it's there...so it bothers me. The wood isn't even, and you can see the outline of the chip.

I know that wood can be repaired...but I would like to know what the price would be to fix something like this, and if it would even be worth it. Does anyone have experience with fixing the actual wood on the body of the guitar.
I appreciate any comments.

Here's a pic: (the damage actually shows up much better in the pics than if you were to just look at this in front of you)

[Grandturk]

To me, the repair looks worse than seeing a chunk of wood hogged out. I would just eave it. These things don't bug me.

Edit: you know what bugs me? Chips out of the tips of pointy headstocks. That's about it.

[straycat]

You did the right thing and glued the chip down.That's scar number one just live with it not a big deal.

[Grim]

Agreed. I just hope you love the guitar so you don't have to sell it :|

[MarkThomas]

Yeah, like you, dings, chips, scratches, etc bug me. In fact, when I got my first San Dimas, it took all of three days to put the first ding in it (as I was removing it from the rack, I bumped it on the corner of my desk). I was BUMMED...wrote about it here, and then proceeded to a couple of body shops to see if they could fix it.

Long story short, I didn't get it fixed, and have since noticed there are dings under the Floyd (looks like some idiot pulled the strings off without putting something under the Floyd). Now, I don't even remember the dings very often, and when I do, it's no big deal. Now, when that next ding comes, I will think of it as adding to the character of MY guitar.

Just be happy your damage is in the back...play it, enjoy it, forget about it!

[veniculum]

A lot of guys these days look at the scratches, dings, imperfections in general, as a good thing. Hell..you can buy guitars with those 'defects' built in...and usually for a HIGHER PRICE!

I don't get this trend. I don't understand why people want old shitty looking guitars. I mean, you don't walk into a car dealer and ask to pay more money for a busted up piece of shit. They'd think you were nuts.

Do you honestly think that 50 years ago, folks would walk into music shops and buy Strats that were dropped, dinged, scratched, etc. for their hard earned cash. No...they wanted new stuff that actually looked new.

Sorry to go on a rant. I'll just never understand this fascination with beat up stuff. It's one thing if it's yours, it's 25 years old, and it's gotten beat up over the years gigging and playing. But to buy them intentionally that way...guess it's a bit like buying jeans with the holes in them.
No...I have no intention of selling this guitar..I do love this thing....and a small imperfection on the back doesn't kill me. But I am kinda bummed about it. And quite frankly, if i could find someone who could repair it for a decent price, I absolutely would.

But I digress...I really should've left it alone. I didn't need to open up the back plate...I wanted to replace the springs with a set of floydupgrades.com springs.

I will say...this has me a little concerned. I have two more Charvels and a Jackson PC-1 that didn't seem to have this problem any time I've taken off their back plates. I wonder why this one got stuck in there the way it did. Did the cold, dry air contribute....was the cavity cut a little smaller than my other guitars?

After something like this, I kinda appreciate the way Strats are setup...with the plate just sitting on top of the body, instead of recessed like the Charvel/Jacksons (as much as they do look better recessed)

Anyway...thanks for the replies. All of you are right...I shouldn't let it bother me...but a perfectionist is a perfectionist. Nothing I can do about it.

[toejam]

That's not from the weather. Other people here have complained about it before. It's from the paint not being totally dry when they put the cavity plate on at the factory.

[veniculum]

That's not from the weather. Other people here have complained about it before. It's from the paint not being totally dry when they put the cavity plate on at the factory.

No kidding?...I didn't know that. Well...it certainly happened to me..and the results were a little ugly. Oh well. There's a blue custom that I keep seeing on this board...I might be trading up a couple of Pro-Mods

[guitarzan_josh]

Was it Vai who said that the first thing he does with his guitars and his cars is put a scratch on them just to get it over with??? I thought that was a bit extreme.

[jrnic]

You have THE SAME EXACT story as me!! It sounds like I could have written it. I have the 'Wild Card' Trans Candy Magenta and wanted to take off the trem plate to adjust it. The same thing. I used a variety of small screwdrivers to pry the plate off. All of a suddent 'POP' the plate goes flying across the room. As I get the plate and look at the guitar, there it is...the SAME EXACT chip in the same exact place. I couldn't find the paint chip though. It went flying somewhere. SO I go to my teenage daughter and sure enough, she has a color nail polish that's pretty close to the body color. I couldn't stand seeing that bright fresh wood color staring out at me so I used the nail polish to fill it. Looks pretty good too. I'm happy with it. But....sure enough, about a week later I find the paint chip lying on the rug. I put it in an old prescription bottle and have it on the shelf so if I get the courage one day, I can try to re-attach it.

At least I know I'm not the only one it happened to! I feel your pain dude!!!!!

[veniculum]

You have THE SAME EXACT story as me!! It sounds like I could have written it. I have the 'Wild Card' Trans Candy Magenta and wanted to take off the trem plate to adjust it. The same thing. I used a variety of small screwdrivers to pry the plate off. All of a suddent 'POP' the plate goes flying across the room. As I get the plate and look at the guitar, there it is...the SAME EXACT chip in the same exact place. I couldn't find the paint chip though. It went flying somewhere. SO I go to my teenage daughter and sure enough, she has a color nail polish that's pretty close to the body color. I couldn't stand seeing that bright fresh wood color staring out at me so I used the nail polish to fill it. Looks pretty good too. I'm happy with it. But....sure enough, about a week later I find the paint chip lying on the rug. I put it in an old prescription bottle and have it on the shelf so if I get the courage one day, I can try to re-attach it.

At least I know I'm not the only one it happened to! I feel your pain dude!!!!!

Damn...you brought it all back brother...there's a smaller paint chip on the other side that never surfaced...the cat probably ate it. I showed my guitar tech yesterday, and he actually kinda laughed a little. He said the same thing as everyone else..."who cares...it's on the back". Like I said...I know it's there. The guitar is no longer perfect

Seriously..it really doesn't bother me that much....but it kinda sucks that something like this could happen just pulling the plate off. I was talking with my tech for a while, and he actually made a good point. Everything I bring him is USA made, higher end stuff. Even the Charvels (which are my "cheaper" guitars) are still quality US-Made instruments. I was talking about other import stuff...he said the Japanese stuff these days is actually, in a lot of ways...not necessarily better made...but certainly more precise. And to be honest, I do agree with him on some level. I love the US stuff because it usually isn't completely perfect. You can tell it was, at least partially, made by hand...defects and all. With the Japanese stuff, you can tell a robot built it...at least a lot of them. Thing is, the Japanese have really perfected it now...and their pricing is representative of that. Not quite US prices...but they're getting up there. Thing is..when I was coming up, 20-25 years ago, anything Japanese was complete junk. So it just goes to show how far all guitar manufacturers have come.

Anyway...off on a little tangent there....I guess I bring that up because while disappointing that this happened, not completely surprising. Doesn't matter though...still nothing feels/plays like my US Pro-Mods...except maybe an original "Pro-mod"

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

The guitar is no longer perfect

If you ever think it is, you need glasses. It's wood. Shit happens, after you get it while they're building it, etc. The neck pocket could always fit just a little better, oh, there's a tiny scratch, what is that? Some dust? That better be some dust, buecause if it's not it's a chip...

Take a deep breath, shut up, and play your guitar.

[chrisolson]

Take it off once. Never put it back on!!

[veniculum]

If you ever think it is, you need glasses. It's wood. Shit happens, after you get it while they're building it, etc. The neck pocket could always fit just a little better, oh, there's a tiny scratch, what is that? Some dust? That better be some dust, buecause if it's not it's a chip...

Take a deep breath, shut up, and play your guitar.

Hey...lighten up Madison Avenue....I was being sarcastic

[Nimitz]

If you ever think it is, you need glasses. It's wood. Shit happens, after you get it while they're building it, etc. The neck pocket could always fit just a little better, oh, there's a tiny scratch, what is that? Some dust? That better be some dust, buecause if it's not it's a chip...

Take a deep breath, shut up, and play your guitar.

Guitars have to have some character... awesome rant!!!